Manawanui Welcomes Disability Support System Transformation

Media Release

Manawanui Welcomes Disability Support System Transformation

New Zealand’s leading facilitator of self-directed funding welcomes the launch of a new disability support system based on self-direction.

Manawanui’s CEO, Marsha Marshall says that she has seen the evidence of self-direction creating better outcomes for people with disability.

“After nearly 30 years of working in health and disability, I have seen first-hand approaches that work and those that don’t. I know that self-direction works,” she says.

“I have seen the incredible transformational effects it can have on people’s lives – people move from being confined to home to getting out and participating in the community, getting jobs, and developing wide social networks.”

Twenty-nine-year-old Amy has cerebral palsy and has been using self-directed funding for four years. Amy lives in her own home, has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Psychology and works as a researcher, writer and public speaker among other activities.

“The best thing about my life now is how much control I have. I feel like I can expand my life in ways I would’ve never thought I’d be able to, like travelling, going to conferences, etc,” she says.

The new $24m government-funded system, which gives people with disability greater choice and control over how they use their funding, is similar to what Manawanui has been offering people with disabilities for over ten years.

Hon. Carmel Sepuloni, The Minister for Disability Issues and Hon. Julie Anne Genter, Associate Minister of Health officially launched the new system last week which will be available in the MidCentral region, from 1 October 2018, before going nationwide.

The system has been co-created with disabled people, their families and the wider disability sector.

ENDS

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